Sakamoto Clan
The Sakamoto clan (坂本一族, Sakamoto Ichizoku) is one of the oldest clans of Konohagakure. Like the Uzumaki clan, they are distant blood relatives to the Senju clan, and were on good terms with both clans as a result. History Similar to the Senju clan, the Sakamoto clan gained much of their fame in the era before the hidden villages were founded. Unlike most clans, which focused on mastering one particular set of skills, or the Senju clan, which were prodigious in all skills, the Sakamoto clan were known for their almost exclusive use of kenjutsu, along with ninjutsu. Because of this, they were known by many as "the Samurai clan" (サムライ一族, "Samurai ichizoku"). In fact the clan has long been looked down on by other clans and villages, as many do not consider them to be true shinobi. This prejudice against the Sakamoto clan is believed by many to be the reason behind the sudden and horrific attack on the clan during the Third Shinobi World War, which resulted in 75% of the clan being killed, including civilians. As a result of the attack, the Sakamoto clan became more reclusive, choosing to live within the forest roughly a day's journey from Konohagakure, in order to prevent such an attack from happening again. Background The Sakamoto clan are renowned for their almost unmatched skill in kenjutsu, which is only matched by some of the Land of Iron's most elite samurai, such as Mifune. In fact, the Sakamoto clan is known for almost never using ninjutsu in battle, relying instead on their swordsmanship. Members of the clan only use ninjutsu if the battle is dragging on too long, or if their kenjutsu alone is not enough At birth, each heir to the Sakamoto clan is branded with the Sakamoto Family Crest somewhere on their body, usually on the or the upper arm. This serves as proof of their status and allowed thm to open the secret vault where the sword Shinrei was housed. Abilities The Sakamoto clan are best known for their highly skilled use of kenjutsu, specifically their use of traditional katana swords. The swords themselves, while they may seem unremarkable, are infused with a large number of seals, jutsu and large amounts of chakra while being forged. This gives the swords the ability to cut most materials, as well as some low-level barrier jutsu. The Sakamoto clan also possesses an innate aptitude for both Wind Release and Lightning Release nature transformations, with members of the clan possessing an affinity for one of the two natures. The ability to use Wind Release is highly prized within the clan, as Wind-natured chakra can easily be channelled into blades, thereby increasing their cutting power and overall range, the same being true for Lightning Release. Kekkei Genkai Furthermore, the clan's last surviving member, Masaru Sakamoto, possesses the kekkei genkai for Magnet Release. This allows him to convert his chakra into magnetic forces and magnetise objects. Masaru is the only member of the clan to have ever possessed this kekkei genkai, which combines both Wind Release and Lightning Release. The Sakamoto Clan also possess a well treasured Kekkei Genkai That once belonged to a 'certain clan', the Kekkei Genkai is known as Gold Release. This Kekkei Genkai belonged to the Haruno Clan of Konohagakure who still possess it. The clans' leader Hikari Sakamoto planned a coup to steal the clan's Kekkei Genkai. Stolen Power Ever since the Sakamoto clan leader Hikari Sakamoto planned a coup to steal the Gold Release Kekkei Genkai by taking on the Haruno clan. During the attack the Sakamoto clan almost wiped out every member of the clan, they were almost victorious in the battle against the Haruno clan but the Harunos' soon claimed the victory when "The Moon Princess" Sakura Haruno killed Hikari Sakamoto causing the enemy to retreat. After the death of Hikari, the clan was then left crippled, despite this one of the members defeated a Haruno clan member and stole their DNA while implanting some of the Haruno bloodline into the Sakamoto clan members now gaining the power of the Kekkei Genkai for themselves. Fall of the Sakamoto Several days later the Fifth Hokage Tsunade heard about the coup from her former pupil Sakura, ever since she had placed her trust in the clan due to being allies with the Uzumaki and Senju clans but the 'attack' from the Sakamoto soon pushed her over the edge causing her to lose trust to the clan also causing the clan to lose popularity when news about the fight that occurred between the Haruno and Sakamoto spreaded around the village which made the civilians lose trust to the clan, including the Uzumaki as well. Because of this she then sent out an army of the Anbu to eliminate the clan, despite not having a leader Masaru Sakamoto was soon chosen until the clan was wiped out by the Anbu and Masaru was the only survivor who fled during the massacre. After this, the Sakamoto clan was no more since half of the clan was already lost during the war. After the downfall of the Sakamoto, the Haruno clan soon gained access to their Kekkei Genkai once again after retrieving all of the subjects of the Haruno bloodline from the bases of the Sakamoto clans' library along with their other prized treasures. Trivia * Sakamoto (坂本) can be translated into English two ways, both meaning "(one who lives) at the bottom of the slope" and was a village located in Yatsushiro District, Kumamoto, Japan. The name is listed in the Shinsen shojiroku, and so some bearers have connections with ancient nobility. * The clan's symbol is the Kikyōmon, or Chinese bellflower.